Wrong Number
by AprilNightshade
Summary: AU No magic. It's winter break and there's a strange guy following Laura home one night. When she tries to get away from him by locking herself in a phone booth and calling LaFontaine for help she accidentally dials the number of a mysterious stranger who says her name is Carmilla. Events ensue. (I'm very bad at summaries, I apologize.)
1. Part 1: The Phone Booth

Based on this prompt: "it's night and i'm walking home alone and there's this guy following me and he's starting to gain on me and i found a phone booth with a lock on the door and i tried to call my best friend but i accidentally dialed the wrong number and i don't even know you but help me"

* * *

There is someone following me.

About 3 blocks back I felt like I was being watched. When I looked around, I saw a large man walking about 20 feet behind me. This wouldn't of bothered me at all if it weren't for the fact that it was 12:30am and literally no one else was on the street. I tested the suspicion I had about him and proceeded to cross the street and turn the corner.

Sure enough, he did the exact same thing.

It's not like I wanted to be walking millions of blocks back home super late on a cold December night. I went and visited Perry in the hospital- she broke her leg really badly after slipping on her freshly-mopped floor and was going to have to stay in the hospital for a little while and get surgery on it, so being the kind friend that I was, I spent the entire day with her and LaFontaine while we calmed her nerves. By the time we left the hospital, it was almost midnight. LaF walked home because their apartment was about two blocks away from the hospital. I was going to take the bus back, since I lived basically on the other side of town, but because of the snowy weather conditions and how late at night it was, the next bus was coming in _3 hours._ There was no way I was waiting that long. I couldn't call a friend or a cab, because my phone died and I didn't have anyone's number memorized except for LaF's, but I didn't want to bother them after the long day we had. It's not like there were many pay phones around here anyway. So I began my long trek across town.

And now, there's a creepy guy following me.

I look behind me briefly, and to my horror he's beginning to pick up the pace. I do too, but just one of his steps is like 3 of mine and he's gaining on me so quickly. I break into a run, panicking. I don't even dare look back to see if he's running, too. _What in the name of hell or Hogwarts am I supposed to do?!_

I remembered my earlier thought about pay phones. There may not be many around but I was going to try and find one. I had to call LaF before I get inevitably murdered.

I whip my head around, trying to spot one. No luck. I keep sprinting, now running on full adrenaline, crossing the street to the next block. I can hear his heavy footsteps behind me. Why is he trying to follow me?

 _Bingo._ There's one about 30 feet in front of me. I can see it faintly illuminated by the orange street light. I pick up my pace, my heart nearly bursting out of my chest, and fling open the door, shutting it behind me quickly. To my relief there is a little lock on the booth's door. I slide it into place.

When I pick up the phone I can hear him yelling some sort of strange foreign language at me through the door. He even starts pounding on the booth, making my blood turn to ice.

I grab the last of my spare change from my pocket and throw it into the slot. It's dark, but I can faintly see the numbers on the keys so I punch in LaF's phone number with shaky hands.

"Please pick up, please pick up…" I mutter to myself, trying to block out the noise outside. I should have walked down a more populated street towards my house, one where there would be other people on the sidewalks.

To my glorious relief, I hear a voice. "Hello?"

"LaFontaine!" I almost scream. "There's this insane guy trying to attack me! I locked myself in a phone booth and my cell is dead, you've gotta help! I'm not too far away from your-"

"Woah, slow down," the voice on the other line says. "Who is this?"

I pause. "This… this isn't LaFontaine, is it?"

"Nope," the voice says. "Sorry."

 _Crap!_ I thought. _I must've dialed the wrong number!_

The girl lets out a sigh. By the sound of her deeper, relaxed voice, she sounds like someone who deals with crap like this all of the time, like this is no big deal. "But is seems like you got yourself into a pretty sketchy situation, and it's your lucky day; I'm actually feeling generous. So I'm gonna help you out."

I sigh a sigh of absolute relief. "Thank you," I say.

The man starts knocking and yelling again, which makes me jump. "I-I have no idea what to do. He won't go away!"

"Why did he start following you?" she questions. "Do you know him?"

"No!" I exclaim. "He just started following me for no reason at all. I think he's crazy."

"Hm," the girl grunts. "Well, I would just wait it out for a little bit. Just ignore him and see if he'll go away. Don't worry. You said you locked yourself in a phone booth, yeah? Those things are pretty strong, especially if you hold them closed yourself."

I smile. "Thank you," I say for the second time, warily looking out of the clear door. He was still standing there, a crazed expression on his face. "I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it," the fuzzy voice said into my ear. "How'd you get into this situation anyway?"

I sigh. "I was visiting my friend in the hospital. I took the bus over and I planned on taking it back but because of the weather it was running extremely late, so I just started walking."

"And then he started following you."

"Yeah."

"Wow. That sucks."

I laugh.

There's another pause, but it's a comfortable one. For some reason I can't explain, I smile. "Hey," she begins suddenly. "Don't pay phones usually have a time limit? How much longer do you have on this call?"

My stomach drops. "Oh, crap, I didn't even think about that! I only had enough change for this one call! Umm, I probably don't have much time!"

"Hey, don't freak out," she says. "He's bound to get bored and go away soon. How far are you from where you live?"

I groan. "Like, at least two or three miles away."

"Jesus," she says.

I look outside again, expecting to see the man staring me down. But to my surprise, I can see him walking away.

I grin. "Hey! He's leaving!"

A soft chuckle sounded through the phone. "Told you."

A weight lifts off of my chest. "Thank you for being so calm and helpful. I couldn't of done it without you."

"No problem, cupcake," the voice says. "What's your name, anyway?"

 _Cupcake?!_ I think. "Uh, Laura," I respond, not even thinking of giving her a fake name. I guess I just trust her. "You?"

"It's Carmilla," she responds.

I smile. "That's a really cool name. I've never heard it before."

I can almost hear her shrug over the phone. "Yeah, it's okay."

Then I hear a muffled noise, like a door closing, followed by someone talking loudly and possibly angrily in the background. Carmilla sighs into the phone, sounding frustrated. "William! What in God's name are you-" This was followed by a crashing noise. "Oh, fuck," Carmilla groans. "Hey, cupcake, look, I gotta go soon so I can control my idiot brother. It was nice talking to you, though. Gave my night a little bit of excitement. Hope that guy doesn't come back and murder you or something."

I find the remark a little morbid and weird, but I don't say anything. "Oh, uh, yeah, okay," I say awkwardly. I'll admit; I'm a little upset. Something about her voice sort of... draws me in. "Um, thanks again. Sorry I accidentally called you."

"Hey, it's cool," Carmilla says. "And if you ever wanna, y'know, accidentally call me again, my number is 555-4127."

I get a funny feeling in my stomach. _She's telling me her number? She must really want me to call her again…_ I thought. I secretly wonder what the expression on her face looks like in this very moment.

"Thanks," I say, trying to sound casual. It never works. "I'll remember that, since it's just one number off from my best friend's, theirs is 4124 instead of-"

A loud beep cuts me off mid-sentence, followed by an automated voice that says ' _We're sorry, but you've run out of time! Please insert more change to extend your call.'_

I sigh. _What a weird, freaky night,_ I think, hanging up the phone and unlocking the payphone door. _But maybe I made a new friend out of it._ I quickly take the pen I always carry around in my pocket and write down her number, just in case _._

* * *

"So he was just chasing you for no reason, and then you tried to call me but you dialed the wrong number, and then the girl you accidentally called started flirting with you and gave you her number?" LaFontaine said, a hint of disbelief and amusement in their eyes.

My face goes red. "I never said she was flirting!" I exclaim.

LaF gives me a look and shrugs. "Well, from what you just told me… kinda sounded like she was flirting."

I jokingly roll my eyes at them and stir the spoon in my tea around a little. "She could just be a naturally flirty person or something. Besides, she doesn't even know me. Why would she flirt with me?"

LaF shrugs. "Hey, with some people, you can tell if they're cute just by hearing their voice. Maybe she thought that about you."

I laugh, thinking that's a ridiculous claim, and then look around the cafe we're sitting in and sigh. LaF and I love coming to this little cafe (the Lustig Cafe) when we don't have classes or we're upset and wanna talk. We have lots of memories in this place. And since winter break started recently, LaF and I have already been spending tons of time in here.

LaF grins mischievously. " Sooo…" they drawl. "When are you gonna call her again?

I shrug. "I dunno."

LaF looks smug. "Do you want to call her again?"

I blush a little. "Shut up!" I respond, hitting them playfully on the arm.

"Admit it, Laura," they say. "You totally have a _crush_ on phone girl." They draw out the word 'crush'.

"A _crush?_ On a stranger I've talked to on the phone for like 5 minutes? Are you 12?" I give them a look. "Be real, LaFontaine."

LaF smirks. "Okay, Laura, whatever you say…" They stand up, grabbing their cup.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

LaF grunts. "I promised this guy in my Marine Bio class from last semester that we'd go to the marine mammal centre and see if we can get our hands on anything cool," they say. "I'll be back around 8 or something."

I groan. "That's like 10 hours from now! What am I supposed to do 'til then?"

LaF laughs. "I don't know, get a life? Get some other friends?" they joke. "Call your new girlfriend?"

I throw my head back and grunt loudly. "You're making way too big of a deal out of this."

"Eh, I like messing with you," they laugh, grabbing their bag. "Alright, I'm off. See you later, nerd."

I wave goodbye and watch them walk out the door. I gather my stuff and do the same, heading back to my apartment.

* * *

It's nice having the apartment all to myself. Betty, my roommate, is off to Maine to stay with her family for the whole break. As for me, I'm staying here. My only family is my dad, really, and sadly he's away on an important business trip in Austria for a while, so he told me it wasn't really worth it to come home. I was a little disappointed, but honestly it was nice not having to take the long flight to get back home. Besides, the weather's been so terrible that I probably would've never been able to make it out of here. Betty made it out just before the storm hit.

I lay down on my bed, my cell in my hands. I glance at the clock; it's 5pm.

It's not a weird time to call her, right?

I dial her number, listening to it ring. On one of the last rings, she picks up.

"Mmmhello," I hear her respond. It's sounds extremely muffled, like she's eating something, maybe?

I start to sweat nervously. What if this was a bad idea? What if it was totally weird that I was calling her? _But she gave you her number for a reason, dummy,_ I thought.

"Hellooo?" I hear her say again.

"Um, hi!" I reply, finally. "It's Laura, from last night."

"Oh, hey, it's Wrong Number Girl," she says. "Glad to hear you didn't get murdered."

I can hear her voice so much clearer on my cell than I could last night on that old payphone. Her voice sends shivers up my spine and I have no idea why.

"Yeah!" I say. "Just thought I'd, um, call you again. I'm pretty bored."

"Oh yeah?" she says. "Don't have any friends or something?"

I laugh. "They're all either currently busy or gone for winter break."

"Ahh so you're in college, are you?" she asks. I can hear her doing other things on the line, sounds like things clattering together and her voice getting muffled by crunching sounds.

"Yeah. Are… are you?" I wonder. She definitely sounds like she could be young enough.

"Nah, but I used to be. I graduated last year from Silas University."

My eyes light up. "Hey, that's where I go!" I laugh. "I'm a senior this year. I doubt we've ever seen each other, though. Silas is, like, the largest school in the country."

"True that," she says. I can still hear her eating something. It's incredibly loud.

"What in the world are you eating, a bowl of nails?" I scoff. "I've never heard such loud chewing in my life."

"Breakfast," she simply responds.

I give a confused look without thinking about the fact that she can't even see me. "It's 5 in the afternoon."

"Mmhm. A.K.A, the time I wake up. Therefore, when I eat breakfast."

"You wake up at 5pm?!"

"Yup. Usually go to sleep around 6 or 7am, depends on the day. I like to get full ten hours, since I love to sleep."

"Don't you have a job?" I ask.

"I have a night job."

I whistle. "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you were a night owl."

"I like night time. I feel so much more alive in the dark than I do in the sun."

I chuckle. "What, are you a vampire or something?"

"Honestly, at this point, pretty much," she replies with amusement.

I laugh. It comes out light and bubbly. I think she enjoys it, because I can hear her chuckling a bit through the phone.

"I really like talking with you," I say. I didn't really mean to say it; it sort of just slipped out randomly, and I kind of felt embarrassed after I said it.

But Carmilla only chuckles once again. "You too, cupcake. And that's saying something, coming from me; I usually hate interacting with other people."

I laugh. "Oh, I see. Let me guess- you're one of those girls with lots of eyeliner who listens to punk music and hates everyone. Or some sort of variation of that."

"Pretty much. But I don't like labels."

"Oh yeah? And what other labels do you not like?"

"Well, gosh, where's my mile long list?" she laughs. "Rude, monster, asshole. Just to name a few."

"People have called you those things? What for?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, various reasons. I guess you could say I'm not exactly a people person."

I'm about to ask her to explain when I hear a noise in the background and a groan come from Carmilla. The noise is loud and and sounds like something falling over, mixed with yelling.

"Sorry, sundance, I gotta go," she sighs. "Once again, I've gotta take care of my talking walnut for a brother. It's impossible to keep him out of the liquor cabinet."

"O-okay," I say. "Nice talking to you!"

There were more strange sounds, followed by Carmilla yelling. "Damn it Will, if I see you touching my precious camera one more time I swear I'm gonna take your eyeballs and-"

Then there was a beep and the call ended.

I smile. _She called me sundance._

* * *

"Hollis, you've got it _bad,_ don't you?"

I laugh at LaFontaine's comment. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't even pretend to not know what I'm talking about. I see you smiling about nothing in particular. You're totally crushing on phone girl again. It's been like 3 days since you first accidentally called her, how many times have you guys talked?"

I sigh, not even trying to hide the fact that I was thinking about her. "Twice now. It's weird, not knowing very well who she is, or knowing at all what she looks like. But… I don't know. It's like we have a connection or something. I can't explain it."

LaF makes over-exaggerated swooning noises, teasing me. I hit them on the arm playfully.

"Hey, so there's this party that's happening at my neighbour's apartment tonight," LaF says, changing the subject. "She has a really cool place. It's on the ground floor so it even has a cool little outside porch area that she decorated with string lights. This time of year with all of the snow, it's breathtaking. She told me I could invite someone, and Perry is obviously still in the hospital, so do you wanna come?"

I smile. "Yeah, sure, a party sounds fun."

LaF grins. "Awesome. Meet me at my apartment at 7."

* * *

 **I wrote and finished this fanfic a couple weeks ago, thought I'd see if people liked it or not. It turned out to be a lot longer than I expected! This is part 1 of 6. If you'd like me to continue updating, please follow/review/etc. and give me feedback.** **If I get enough support I'll post the next chapter this Thursday, when Act III drops.** **Thanks. :)**


	2. Part 2: The Party

The party is full of people I've never seen before with the occasional face I barely recognize. LaFontaine said the owner of the house is also a bio major at Silas, so it was no wonder that they were recognizing so many people. After LaF ran up and greeted the third person that they recognized in a span of 10 minutes I decide to leave them to mingling with their friends and try to find out where the snacks are. I haven't eaten since lunch.

I quickly find a snack table successfully, grabbing a beer and too many chocolate chip cookies. While scarfing down my second cookie contently, I hear a voice from behind me.

"Woah, slow down there, you're gonna choke!"

I turn and see a girl with red hair and who is about twice my size. She's so tall that I basically have to kareen my neck upwards like I'm looking at a skyscraper. She has a red and white baseball t-shirt on and blue jean shorts. I blush a little; she's really pretty.

I put down the cookies and dust off the crumbs from my shirt. "I haven't eaten since lunch. I was starving," I muffle through a mouthful of cookie.

The girl chuckles. "Don't worry, I totally get it. I've been there. I'm Danny, by the way."

"I'm Laura," I respond. "Do you go to Silas?"

"Sure do," she says. "I'm a Summer."

I widen my eyes. "No way! That's awesome. The Summer Society is awesome. I totally would've joined, but I'm not really Summer material." I realize I said awesome twice and feel like I sounded stupid.

"That's okay, it's not for everyone," she says, shrugging. "What are you majoring in?"

We talked like this for a little while, making small talk. I found out that not only is she a summer but she is also a Lit TA for Professor Callahan. She's also passionate about campus security and being in a constant feud with the Zeta's. After I told her about me and we exhausted all the topics we could think of at the moment, Danny looks at her phone and sighs.

"Shoot. It's 11. I gotta get going. I promised one of my sister's that I'd help her out with something." Danny looks at me, stepping in a little bit closer. "It was _really_ nice to meet you Laura. I hope… maybe we can see eachother again?"

I smile. "Yeah. It was nice to meet you too."

Before I can register what was happening, Danny's leaning in and her lips are on mine. They feel soft at first but as she begins to kiss me a little more it feels somewhat awkward and forced. I try to get a little more into it. This is what I want, right? She's pretty, and nice. So why does this feel so wrong?

Danny pushes me against a wall, deepening the kiss and putting her hands on my body. She even tries to put her hands up my shirt. I have to pull away.

I can see Danny's face twist in confusion as she pulls away too. "What's wrong?"

"This doesn't feel right," I blurt out. I immediately regret it; it sounded rude and awkward and makes this situation even worse.

Danny looks even more confused, possibly a bit hurt. "Is this not… did I read this situation wrong?"

"No, I just… it was a little unexpected," I reply softly.

"Good unexpected?"

I wanted to say yes, but I'd be lying. It wasn't like it was bad, it just… wasn't right.

But Danny took the silence all wrong. She scoffs, rolling her eyes and smiling like she totally understands what . "Oh, I see. You're one of those girls who has fun in playing someone. The art of flirting is all a game to you, right? You act all sweet and innocent and then once it's time for the someone to make a move you shit all over them?"

I feel mortified. "No!" I exclaim loudly. "No, that's not what I was doing at all! Danny, this was a misunderst-"

"Whatever, Laura," Danny snides, walking away briskly.

I huff, scrunching up my face with frustration. I didn't mean to hurt Danny's feelings. Besides, I'm allowed to say no, right? Wasn't she the one who was sort of out of line? Or was I being rude and closed off?

My brain feels like it's being crushed in a garbage compactor so I fill a red solo cup with champagne and grab an extra cookie before asking a man with a scruffy beard and a lab coat where the door to the porch is. I really need fresh air and ever since LaF told me about the cool outdoor area I've been meaning to check it out. So I make my way towards the door and walk outside.

The air is brisk and makes me hug my jacket closer to my body. My boots crunch in the soft layers of snow and I sit down in the one chair under a row of string lights that isn't occupied by couples kissing. I see my breath visibly curl from my mouth as I sigh. The fresh cold air feels good on my face but a feeling of loneliness washes over me.

 _I wish Carmilla were here._

The intrusive thought surprises me, but still manages to make me feel just a bit warmer inside and out. I blame it on being tipsy and decide to get my phone out. Maybe I should call her. She always makes me feel a little less lonely.

I mindlessly click on her contact and dial her number. It rings a few times. I contemplate nervously for a few moments if this is even a good idea, but my thoughts are interrupted by a voice on the other line.

"Hey, cupcake."

I immediately change my mind- this was a great idea.

"H-hey!" I stutter. "How are you? This isn't a bad time, is it? Because if it is, I can call you later, but only if you want me to, I just… felt like talking to you, I guess, and I'm at this party and-"

"Breathing, creampuff. Ever heard of it?" Carmilla chuckled. "You should really take breaths in between rambles. But, to answer your question, no, this isn't a bad time. In fact, I was just thinking about you."

I grin. "You were?" I squeak.

"Yeah. So, you say you're at a party?"

I sigh. "Yeah, and this weird thing happened. This really tall and cute redhead named Danny started talking to me for a long time and at first I was interested but then we started kissing and it felt wrong. So I stopped and Danny got really mad at me and stormed out of the party. And now I'm outside in the backyard of someone's apartment that I don't know, a very pretty backyard, though, but I'm feeling bad about what happened and I'm thinking maybe I should've just let Danny kiss me more, and I was feeling a whole new level of loneliness, so, naturally…"

"You called me," Carmilla says, finishing my sentence for me. "'Naturally,' huh? I must say I feel honoured. As for this Danny guy, he should've gotten clear consent from you before he made any moves. It sounds like he just assumed that what he wanted was what you wanted. Danny is the one who should feel like he did something wrong. Consent is incredibly important, Laura. Don't you dare feel like you owe him anything. If I had been there, I would've made sure he knew that. With my fists." She chuckles.

I can't help but feel such a swell of emotions. Carmilla is right (although, wrong about Danny's gender, which is hilarious at the moment). I had every right to say no if I wasn't comfortable. It's not like she really gave me an opportunity to make it clear that I didn't want her to kiss me before her lips were all over mine.

"Thank you, Carmilla," I say. "Really. I don't think you understand how much I needed that right now. You're so right about Danny, she had no right to do that and be mad at me for it."

There's an obvious pause over the line. "Wait, she?" Carmilla asked. "Danny's a she? Did you say that she had ginger hair? Is her full name Danny Lawrence? Part of Summer Society? With hair as red as Clifford and legs as long as the Nile?"

I'm shocked, to say the least. "You know her?"

"Unfortunately," Carmilla grumbled. "She was my TA last year for my Literature class. She hated my guts because I got on her nerves, but she got on mine, too. I lived for annoying her, though. It was my source of entertainment during 2nd semester of senior year. I think throwing a crumpled up syllabus and hitting her in the head with it on the first day after she yelled at me to stop reading in class was what really started our feud." She chuckles. "Good times, good times."

I can't help but laugh at this. Hard. After calming down, I say, "Oh my God, that's too funny. I can't believe you know her."

Carmilla laughs too. "Yeah. Small world."

There's a brief silence over the phone. I can't help but wonder what she's like, what she's interested in. I just wanna know about her.

So I ask her questions. And she tells me answers. It feels similar to the conversation I had earlier with Danny but it felt much less forced and it actually flowed naturally. We talk for a while and the subject of careers come up, so I ask her what she does for a living

"I work at a photography shop on the corner of Owen St. and 18th," she says. "I develop people's negatives and help them out with their cameras. It's open til 2am Monday through Saturday, God knows why, so I work the 6-til-closing shift. Almost no one ever comes in to develop film anymore, it's usually just to buy a new lens cap or a selfie stick or something dumb like that. It's sad really, but you get the occasional old fashioned person coming in with their roll of black and white needing to be developed so I gain faith in humanity again. I also get free access to the darkroom, which is amazing because I don't have access to Silas' darkroom anymore since I graduated, so I can just go in whenever and develop my negatives."

"Are you a film photographer?" I ask her.

"I am," she drawls. "I have been since I was 5 years old. Developed my first roll all by myself when I was 7. My dad was a photographer, too."

"Oh yeah? And why isn't he anymore?"

She's silent for a moment. Then, in a quieter voice, she says, "He died when I was 8."

"Oh, Carm… I'm so sorry, I just assumed-"

"Cupcake, don't apologize," she says. "And, please, don't call me Carm." Her voice sounds colder, more stern.

There's suddenly weird energy and tension coming from the other side of the line so I decide to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Um, tell me about your photographs. What do you like to take pictures of?"

"People, mostly," she sighs. "Usually strangers, when I have the energy to ask permission. But I also take photos of people discreetly, like on public transportation on on the streets. Sometimes I take photos of my brother when he's too drunk to stop me. I also like to take pictures of various animals, and also abandoned places, like old houses or abandoned warehouses. Those are very interesting. And when I can, I sell my photos, to make some extra money, and there's an old library I like to work at when I really need some extra cash. Our family has known the owner for years. So, all of that plus the photography store job pays the bills."

"That sounds like the ideal life to me," I giggle, wishing for such a life free of homework and studying-induced stress. It's winter break and I'm still dreading the day I have to go back to worrying about that stuff. I quickly make myself think of other things. "You know, I'd really love to see your photos sometime. Maybe… maybe one day we could, I don't know… actually meet each other? Like, in person? If you wanted to?"

I can't believe I just asked her that without even thinking about it for a moment before. The question had just slipped out of my mouth. My stomach tightens into a thousand knots. I expectantly await an answer.

The line is silent for much longer than it should be. And then, her response.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Laura."

My heart feels like it's flattened. I try my best to respond to this disappointing reaction. "Oh, um, yeah, of course, Carmilla, I totally get it. Totally understandable. I mean, we barely even-"

I'm cut off because Carmilla suddenly makes a strange noise over the line, followed by a muffled 'hey!' in Carmilla's voice. "Uh, hello?" I say pointlessly. "You there, Carmilla?"

"Whooo is this?" says a slurred male voice.

I become very confused. "I think the better question is who the hell is _this?_ Where did-"

The man on the other line laughs loudly. He sounds very drunk. Maybe this is Will, Carmilla's brother? That would be logical. But why did he take Carmilla's phone? I can hear muffled sounds of protest coming from Carmilla in the background as the guy speaks. "Are youuu Mircalla's newest girlie toy of the month? She hasn't had one in quite some tiiiime, no sir, not since-"

This cryptic sentence is cut off and followed by more struggling noises, a string of very crude curse words, and then the call is disconnected.

There's so many questions spinning around in my mind. Was that guy her brother? Her friend? What if he was more than just a friend? Who knows who it could have been? "It's not like I've ever even met her in real life," I mutter to myself. "I don't even know what she looks like." Feeling a bit down, I chug the rest of the champagne in my red solo cup, enjoy the outside air a bit longer, and head back inside, getting more to drink, this time something a little harder. Tonight hadn't turned out as good as I had intended it to.

* * *

I stumble through my apartment door, more drunk than I intended to be. I kick off my shoes, take off my layers of jackets and sweaters and clothes, and take a quick shower, somehow managing to stay in balance and not trip wherever I move. After I put on my comfortable flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt I check my phone.

 _Carmilla_

 _1 missed call & voicemail (10 minutes ago)_

"Shit," I mutter, contemplating whether I should open it now or wait. Deciding I can't possibly stand waiting until tomorrow, I unlock my phone and listen to the message.

 _Laura,_ the voicemail begins. Her deep, raspy voice saying my name sounds buttery and gentle and it gives me chills. _I just wanted to call and say how sorry I am about how our last call ended. My alcoholic brother is a total mess all the time._ I silently thank the heavens that it was her brother, not anyone else, and I feel absolutely ridiculous for doing it. _I just wanted to clear something up, because I'm not always the best at being clear with my words or saying things in ways that people find pleasant, which is why I said a lot of people pass me off as rude and whatnot. And usually I don't care enough to make these sort of calls, but… I said I didn't want to meet you before because honestly I'm terrible with any sort of relationship with anyone, whether it platonic, romantic, or anything in between. I just really wouldn't want you to meet me and be incredibly disappointed in what you find, that's all. It's easy to put up a front over the phone but so much harder in real life, and I'm always afraid of that. And just a few hours ago I was scared but I've been thinking about it now and I do want to meet you. I do. I just thought you deserved to know. That's all._ An automated voice lets me know that the message has ended.

"Dammit, why did I have to miss this call?" I say to myself, my words a bit slurred. I try to call her back but I just get her voicemail inbox message. _Hey, you've somehow reached Carmilla Karnstein's voicemail,_ it begins in a much colder, harsher voice than in the voicemail she had left me. _Leave a message after the beep, I guess. Unless you're that creep who keeps calling me and trying to sell me condoms, then ditch my number and STOP CALLING ME ASSHOLE._ Before the beep happens, I hang up. I'm pretty drunk so leaving her a message right now probably wouldn't be the best idea. I decide to sleep it off and try to get back in contact with her in the morning. Or, evening, I suppose.

* * *

 **New chapter will be up Sunday, possibly earlier. As always, review and all the rest. Thanks ;)**


	3. Part 3: The Theme Park

I sleep in much later than I intend to. Thank Hogwarts it's winter break and I don't have to worry about being late to class. I wake up with my hair and makeup everywhere and also with a massive headache. When I moan and glance at the clock, it reads 1pm.

I get up lazily, making myself breakfast and checking my phone. No more messages from Carmilla, to my disappointment, but I'm really glad she left me that message, that she put in the effort to fix the situation. I had a feeling she didn't do that a lot.

I feel disgusting so I decide to take another shower. It's snowing pretty heavily outside so it's not like I have much else to do besides stay in my apartment. But before I start to turn on the water, I change my mind, thinking about how nice a hot bath would feel right about now. So I plug the drain and run a bath, strawberry-scented bubbles and all. When I get in the tub I know immediately that this was a really good decision.

My phone is playing relaxing music on the counter right next to the bathtub. I close my eyes and have a clear mind for a solid 20 minutes, not thinking about anything or anyone in particular. It feels really nice.

I frown when my music suddenly cuts out and my ringtone starts playing. I dry off my hands with a towel, grab my phone, and look to see who's calling.

My stomach does the tango. It's Carmilla.

I pick up the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, cupcake," I hear Carmilla rasp. "I just saw that you called me last night. Sorry I missed it. I went to sleep really early last night, like 2am, thus why I'm up so early now."

I laugh. "It's 2:30pm, Carmilla. It's really not that early."

"Early for me," she chuckles, making me smile.

"Don't worry about missing my call last night. I'm actually kind of glad you did. I was pretty drunk and not in a good state for talking," I say, giggling. "But anyway, I got your voicemail. I just wanted to thank you for leaving it."

"Of course," Carmilla says. "You deserved an explanation."

"Well, thanks again. I really appreciated it."

"Don't mention it, sundance."

I grin at the nickname.

"What are you doing right now?" she asks me.

I look down, scooping up a handful of bubbles. "Taking a bath."

"How sexy," Carmilla says in a sultry voice.

I laugh loudly. "Hardly. I put so many bubbles in the bath that it almost overflowed and it would've taken forever to clean. And I put my lucky rubber duck down on the water somewhere but I can't find find it under the masses of all the bubbles!" I pout.

Carmilla chuckles. "Still sounds sexy to me."

"Oh, shut up and stop making fun of me," I tell her, laughing and rolling my eyes. "I'm sure you've taken baths with rubber ducks at least a couple times in your life, Ms. too-cool-to-care."

"Of course," Carmilla responds. "I believe the last time I did was when I was 6?"

I just keep laughing. I love engaging in this type of banter with her. I wonder if she likes it too.

"Actually, in all seriousness, I love taking baths," Carmilla says after I finish laughing. "I have since I was very little. What I really love about them is how different the experience of a bath is for everyone, and how each experience you have can be wildly different than the other. For a child it's an innocent form of getting clean. For a teenager, possibly a time to contemplate things alone, or to fight off an unwanted emotion of some sort, like stress or depression. How the addition of just one other person makes the implication so much more sexual or romantic, or not, depending on age. It's a sacred time, at least for me. Since I was very young I've always enjoyed submerging myself entirely in the water, so I can't hear or see anything and I feel like I'm floating in a world of nothing, with no thoughts or responsibilities or sounds, just simply… me."

I feel overwhelmed by all of this. Everything she said was so true, so meaningful. No wonder she had been a philosophy major. "That's beautiful, Carmilla," I say softly.

I can almost see Carmilla's smile over the phone; if only I knew what it looked like. "I've been actually meaning to do a photoshoot based on baths and bathtubs," she says calmly. "One where I have a subject submerged under the water, possibly in a few different poses. All laws of gravity and physics feel like they're being destroyed when you're under water. It's so quiet and soft and tranquil. I want to capture that."

"That would be an incredible photoshoot," I sigh. "I'd love to see those photos."

"Maybe you will someday."

I've grinned so many times during this call, more times than I can count. So I add on another.

There's a long, comfortable pause. Carmilla speaks again.

"Laura, I'd like to meet you. Tonight. Are you free?"

Fireworks. Fireworks everywhere.

"Yeah," I somehow manage to say. "Yeah, I'm free." I was planning on cleaning my apartment tonight but all thoughts of that ever happening instead of getting to meet Carmilla are flung out the window.

"I'm going to text you an address," she says. "Meet me there at 4:30. And wear warm clothes. I'll see you then." And with that, the call is over, and I'm left feeling happier than I've felt in a while.

I laugh out loud. That was the first call we've had so far that Carmilla's brother hadn't somehow managed to cut off in the end.

* * *

I bundle up in warm (but cute) clothes, look up the address Carmilla has sent me and take the bus to the stop nearest to the location as I can. I walk 10 minutes towards the location and end up a at a large parking lot with two cars in it followed by a huge fence. The two cars are are obviously broken down look as though they've been sitting there for years. Everything seems to be covered in lots of untouched snow and even though this isn't the most attractive looking parking lot, the snow sure makes it look prettier.

I walk through the parking lot and make it to the wooden fence. The time is 4:29 so Carmilla should be here by now, but I don't see a single soul in sight. _I hope I'm in the right place,_ I think. After standing and waiting for a few minutes, I decide to start walking around the outside of the fence, hoping I can maybe find her. I walk about halfway around the fence, which is clearly closing off something quite large inside, like possibly some sort of park.

I'm about to give up on aimlessly searching for her when suddenly a dog and another parking lot come into my line of vision. The dog is a very large and lanky dalmatian and it's enthusiastically playing in the snow, jumping around and making patterns in the fresh layers. I look to the right and notice that this lot much smaller, with only one car parked in it- an old mustang. The mustang is promising- it has fresh tire tracks following behind it and barely any snow covering the top, indicating that it was just driven over here. Maybe it's Carmilla's. I keep walking towards the dog and the parking lot, noticing that there's a gap in the fence up ahead that looks like a possible entrance to whatever this place is, and also what appears to be a large sign above the entrance that I'm currently unable to read because of the sideways view.

And then, I see her.

She's leaning against the fence in a calm manner, looking down at the ground with a neutral look on her face. She's wearing pretty much all black; black jeans, black boots, black choker necklace, and an oversized black leather jacket with a red and black flannel underneath. Her hair is wavy and dark and her eyes are rimmed with smoky black eyeliner. There's an old, beautiful camera slung around her neck, and to top it all off, she has a cigarette in between her fingers, and she brings it up to her lips and takes a puff, blowing the smoke elegantly into the air.

There's about a thousand different emotions and thoughts that hit me all at once, but the biggest one is definitely _holy shit she's more gorgeous than I even imagined._

I walk up to her until I'm about 20 feet away. She still hasn't noticed my presence, so I decide to call out to her.

"Carmilla?"

She lifts her head and turns to look at me immediately after I say her name. When she locks eyes with me, she gives me the most legendary smirk I have ever witnessed.

"Well, well, well," she says, flicking her eyes up and down my body. "Look who decided to show up."

My God. Her voice sounds even better in person. My heart feels like it's being stretched into salt water taffy.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," I begin, feeling the rambling coming on. "I had to take a bus here, and I was going to get here like 15 minutes early, but this homeless guy wouldn't stop asking me for a dollar so I had to get off the bus early and wait for the next one, and then when I got here I couldn't find you and… I'm rambling. Sorry. Wow. You look... amazing."

"You don't look so bad yourself, cupcake," Carmilla says with an amused facial expression.

I point to the dalmatian. "Is that your dog?"

She looks over and smiles. "Yeah, that's Cassandra. Cassie! Come on, let's go!"

Cassie looks up from the snow at her owner and begins to charge… right for me. Cassie jumps up, almost knocking me over, her paws reaching my shoulders because she's so tall. She begins to lick my face and I can't stop laughing.

"Cassie, cut it out," Carmilla says calmly, beginning to walk through the entrance. The dog jumps down and begins to follow her through.

It looks like at one point this entrance used to be gated off by a metal fence but one side of it became so rusted that it fell down. I walk through and look around, gasping at the sight.

The evening light gleams off of a completely abandoned theme park in front of me. There's giant rusted carousel right in the front, with rows of different games, like the ones where you shoot water at a target or throw rings at glass bottles and win prizes. In the distance I can see a swing ride and a roller coaster that's just a bit taller than the wooden fence surrounding the whole park. Similar to the parking lot, there's snow covering everything. As we walk through, I stare at everything in complete awe.

"Do you like it?" I hear Carmilla say. I look over at her, a look of wonder still plastered onto my face. She's walking so close to me, closer than she was before. I can faintly smell her perfume.

"Carmilla, it's incredible! How did you possibly find this place?"

"My mother used to bring me, my brother, and my sister here when we were very young," she said. "We stopped going when I was around 5 because they shut it down. When I was 18, my mother brought up something about it that triggered me to remember it. So I came here, and found the park completely abandoned. It's been a photographic inspiration ever since."

I watch Cassie run through the rows of prize games, disappearing to go explore. After we walk around for a while, Carmilla stops when we get to the swing ride and takes the lens cap off of her camera. She begins taking pictures, one after the other, snapping different angles of dirty concession stands and destroyed, unrecognizable objects. Cassie reappears with a large stick in her mouth, proudly walking towards me and dropping it at my feet, indicating to throw it.

There's a comfortable silence between us as Carmilla takes several photos and I throw the stick for Cassie over and over. The lighting is starting to become dimmer more quickly. I watch as Carmilla ashes the cigarette in the ground and pulls out a joint from her black bag.

"You didn't drive here, did you?" she asks me without looking up.

I shake my head. "No, why?"

Carmilla lights the end of the joint. She looks up at me, successfully catching me in the act of watching her, mesmerized. I try to look away but it's too late for that now. She knows I was staring at her and there's a huge smirk on her face. She takes a small puff on the joint, letting the smoke curl out of her mouth.

"Here, this is for you," Carmilla says, walking closer to me and holding out the joint and the lighter.

I give her a surprised look. "Oh, no, that's alright. You don't have to give that to me," I say, my voice sounding squeaky and nervous and I'm not sure why.

She walks up closer to me. "Come on, I insist. I drove here and I can't be high while I drive, so I don't currently have any use for this." She extends her hand, the joint in between her fingers. "Besides, you look like you could use it right now," she chuckles. "It'll warm you up, too. You look freezing."

I chuckle. A joint does sound pretty nice. I haven't smoked in a long time, not since my freshman year of college. I decide to live a little, so I take the joint and the lighter out of her hands.

"Thanks," I say.

"Anytime, creampuff," she drawls.

I take a few puffs on the joint, continuing to throw the stick for Cassie and watch Carmilla take photos. I haven't felt so calm in ages. After I chuck the stick farther than I have thrown it before and Cassie runs off in a polka dot blurr, I take another hit off the joint and tilt my head up slightly, slowly exhaling the smoke.

 _Click!_

Confused, I blow out the rest of the smoke and turn to see that Carmilla is pointing the camera right at me, a smile on her face. She lowers the camera, her dark eyes smouldering like embers.

"Did you just take a photo of me?" I chuckle.

"I did. And it was a good one. It's going to be the best photo on the roll."

I laugh loudly. "Oh, God, it so isn't," I say through giggles.

Carmilla shrugs. She points her camera elsewhere and keeps wandering around, snapping pictures. I can't help but feel a million butterflies in my stomach.

When she finishes her roll of film, and I finish the joint, she walks back towards me. "Hey, sundance, unfortunately I gotta get going. Cassandra needs to be fed and I'm sure my brother needs to be taken care of in one way or another." She whistles at Cassie, who drops the stick like it never mattered to her and runs towards us, full speed.

I'm a bit sad that the evening is over so soon but I'm just glad to have spent a little time with her at all. "That's okay. I should probably get home soon too. I told my friend I'd come over to their apartment tomorrow and they want me there sort of early for a biology experiment about sleeping or something. I'm not sure."

"Sounds riveting," says Carmilla sarcastically as we walk back towards the entrance.

We get back to her car (I was right when I assumed that the old Mustang was hers), and I'm prepared to tell her goodbye when she stops me by gently grabbing my wrist.

"Do you need a ride? I can drive you back to your apartment."

For a moment all I can think about is the feeling of her hand on my skin. I snap out of it. "That… that would be perfect. Do you mind?"

"Nah, as long as it's not totally out of the way," she says, shrugging and letting go of my wrist. "Where do you live?"

"In an apartment building on the corner of River and 12th."

Carmilla smiles. "Perfect. That's on the way to mine."

I hop in the car while Carmilla puts Cassie in the backseat. She gets in and revs the engine, backing out of the parking lot. She punches a button on the dashboard and it starts playing a song I don't recognize but I really like so far.

"Whats this song called?" I ask.

Carmilla makes a right onto the main road and smiles. "Waves, by Gosh Pith."

I giggle a lot more than I intend to. "I don't usually listen to this kind of music but it's gooooood," I say, laughing more. My body feels so good and I even start to move a little to the slow beat.

"Guess that joint is starting to hit you," she chuckles.

"Yeah, I feel great!" I exclaim. That wasn't supposed to be said so loud.

Carmilla laughs again. God, I love her laugh. I look over at her, study her appearance more. She has one pale hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift, and her eyeliner looks even smudgy-er and sexier than before.

I realize in that exact moment the immense crush that I have developed on this girl that I've known for such a small fraction of my life. How does something like this even happen so quickly? I look out the window at the night sky and at all of the beautiful evergreen trees dusted with snow and I can't help but feel like my heart is flying.

Before I even know it, we're pulling up to my apartment building. Orange light illuminates the dark street corner and I see a little white cat run across the road. "Is this it?" Carmilla asks me.

"Yes, it is! River street apartment complex." I flash her a goofy grin. "Apartment 3B, that's me!" I laugh too hard at the bad rhyme I just made. Everything feels a hundred times funnier than normal.

I can tell Carmilla is trying to hold back a full-blown smile but somehow manages to keep a sultry smirk on her face. "Well, I hope you've enjoyed yourself. And I hope I wasn't too bad of company this evening."

I shake my head. "Oh, Carmilla, no! You were awesome company. I had a great time tonight, I really did. Thank you. For everything."

"It was my pleasure," she says, winking at me. "If you like, we can arrange to do this again sometime."

My eyes widen. "Yeah!" I say broken and awkwardly with too much enthusiasm. I clear my throat and try again. "I mean, yes. That… would be fun. Thanks again." I grab my things, briefly pet Cassie goodbye, and climb out the door. I walk to the door of my building, but before I enter, I turn around.

She's sitting there in the driver's seat, watching me with a gorgeous smile. My stomach does somersaults and I wave goodbye, walking into the building.

* * *

 **Part 3, as promised. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave reviews/follow/etc. It's what keeps me writing! :) Thanks to everyone for all the kind words and the love so far. I really appreciate it all. Next chapter up either this Wednesday or Thursday.**


	4. Part 4: Mircalla Karnstein

I wake up wrapped in about 5 different layers of blankets. I groan and turn to look at the time. It's 11am. I've been sleeping in a lot lately, because of winter break.

It's been a few days since Carmilla and I first met, and ever since then it's been total radio silence from her. I tried to call her the day after but it went to voicemail, so I decided that I'd let her contact me instead of the other way around.

But now it's been over two days. And I'm starting to worry that she's lost interest in me. I really hope that's not the case.

As I try to tell myself that she's probably just busy, I walk outside my apartment to go and get my mail when I see a note written in thick black letters taped to my door. I pull it off and read it.

Apartment building complex at 236 Chestnut st., Apartment 709, 7pm tonight. Hope you like spaghetti for dinner; it's all I know how to cook. -C

Oh, man. I thought my heart was skipping beats before, but now it feels like it's stopped completely. It's like I can't even breathe properly. How did she even get this note on my door? You have to input a combination into the main entrance of the building, unless you ring the doorbell for a specific apartment and someone buzzes you in, and I definitely had no recollection of doing that. And how did she even know this was my door?

Oh, yeah. I sang a dumb song about it while I was high. How embarrassing. But that still doesn't explain how she got into the building in the first place. I don't even care at this point. I'm just ecstatic about this letter.

I spend the day at the Lustig Cafe with LaF as they talk about their newest favourite conspiracy theory involving the illuminati living inside the hollowed-out moon and observing our every move. Usually I love listening to LaFontaine's ridiculous theories but all I can think about is what I'm going to wear and what she's going to wear and how I've never wanted it to be 7pm on a Wednesday night more in my life. But I still enjoy my time with them, and when I leave the cafe I'm in an incredibly good mood. I have an hour and a half to get ready and I'm not going to waste any time.

After showering and trying to decide the right thing to wear several times, I finally decide on an outfit and take the very short bus ride over to her apartment building. And before I know it, I'm standing outside her building, trying to figure out how to ring her doorbell. The door buzzes and I walk inside, go up the elevator, find apartment 709 and knock confidently.

And then I hear footsteps coming towards the door. And I lose all confidence.

The door swings open quickly and to my surprise I'm greeted by a wobbly man with messy light brown hair and half closed eyes. He stares at me for a solid few seconds, and I stare back, trying to figure out what to do.

I clear my throat, breaking the silence. "Oh, um, sorry… This must be the wrong apartme-"

Suddenly the man's face lights up and he interrupts me with slurred speech. "Heyy!" he exclaims loudly. "You must be Laura."

Oh. This must be Carmilla's brother. "Yes, I am. Is Ca-"

He smirks and turns his head without letting me finish, looking into the apartment. "MIRCAAALLAAAA!" he yells at with unnecessary volume. "THERE'S SOMEONE SPECIAL HERE FOR YOUUUU!"

There's quick footsteps coming from inside, and suddenly I see slender pale arms shoving Will out of the way.

"Don't call me that!" she growled at him. I hear laughter coming from William as he recedes back into the apartment.

But I can't concentrate on anything but Carmilla. She's dressed… in black leather pants. Yes, leather pants, and some sort of black and red existentialist punk rock t-shirt that I don't recognize. Her eyeliner has been applied even more heavily than before and I can't stop staring at her.

Carmilla, after she finished glaring at Will while he stumbles off, look back at me and gives me an effortless smirk, leaning against the doorframe. "Well, don't you look like a virgin sacrifice."

I laugh. "That's probably the weirdest way anyone has ever greeted me." Of course, I still get chills. Anything she says gives me chills.

Cassie approaches the doorway, her tail wagging furiously back and forth. I bend down and pet her. When I'm done, Carmilla opens the door wider and gestures for me to come inside.

The apartment is a decent size. The front door is an entrance right into the living room and a kitchen attached, with a hallway on the left and right of you right when you walk in.

"Home sweet home," Carmilla chuckles, walking towards the kitchen. "Feel free to sit down. I'll get you some spaghetti."

I sit down on the weathered and very comfortable black couch and pet Cassie until Carmilla brings out a plate, a fork, and some water, setting it down in front of me.

"Here you go," she says. "I'd have some too, but I already ate when Will insisted we eat some of it before you came." Carmilla chuckles, shaking her head. "He was hungry I guess. Oh, and of course, don't let Cassie eat any of it. She's done that before. She ate a whole bowl once. She was vomiting for 5 days. I am not down for cleaning that up again."

I can't help but laugh; trying to imagine Carmilla cleaning her apartment in any way, especially when it involves dog vomit, is pretty much impossible to imagine. I thank Carmilla for the food and pick up the plate of spaghetti. I haven't eaten in hours and I'm starving.

She watches me intently while I wolf down the pasta, which I'm kind of embarrassed about at first. I'm sure she's staring at me because it's hilarious that I look incredibly unattractive while I try to eat spaghetti as fast as I can, but after she doesn't look away for about ten seconds I can't help but feel like she's staring at me because she wants to stare at me, like she likes what she sees. And that thought completely melts me to the core. But I can't possibly understand why she'd be staring at me while I eat spaghetti like a three-year-old who hasn't had a meal in a week.

I swallow the bite I was chewing and turn to look at her. "What?" I ask.

Carmilla's eyes suddenly harden, and she turns away, shrugging. "Uh, nothing. You just remind me of someone sometimes."

I was going to ask who it was. Then I remember that this is Carmilla and she can be very broody and sensitive. So I decide to leave it at that.

After I'm done eating she leads me down the right hallway. As we walk down, I notice a door that is slightly ajar to my left, and a light rustling noise coming from it.

"Is someone in there?" I ask softly.

Carmilla rolls her eyes. "Yes. My sister Mattie. She's staying here for Christmas vacation, just like my brother. Her sarcasm and wit is sharp enough to cut glass. Hopefully she's asleep. Its funny; somehow all three of us inherited unusual sleeping patterns."

"Wait. Will doesn't live with you?"

Carmilla shakes her head. "Just during the holidays. They both live with me for the week or so before Christmas, then leave late on Christmas day. My mother comes just for Christmas eve and leaves after dinner, which is the only time I see her all year. It's a weird tradition since I turned 18 and moved out."

Once again, I'd ask her to go more in depth about these things, but out of fear of drudging something up that may be unpleasant from her past, I don't say anything.

Carmilla opens the red door to her room, letting me walk in first.

I gasp. There's so much to take in.

The colours of the room are dark, mostly black, grey, and dark red, with the occasional lighter colour, and her walls are a lighter grey as well. There's red paper lantern string lights strung up all over the place, providing a warm, glowing light. And there are prints of photos hanging from strings on her walls just about everywhere, in just about every size of print you can imagine. I walk over to one of her walls, studying the photographs. There's just about every different type of person in each of her photographs, some happy, some sad, some so angry that they're smashing objects on the wall. There's groups of people in photos, too, as well as a few animals and inanimate objects.

"Did you take all of these?" I ask her in amazement.

"I did. All except for one." She walks over next to me and points right at a photo. "This is the only one taken of me, by someone else."

I can't help but stare at this photo once she points it out. A lot. She's wearing very short black shorts with thigh high black socks and a white and revealing undershirt, makeup messily smeared all over her face. Her hair is pulled back and she looks agitated, looking away from the camera like she's upset about something, and her hands are clearly moving the different colours of makeup on her face around on purpose.

"That… wow. That is an incredible photo."

Carmilla crouches down, looking at it with me and smirking. "Did you know that if you stare at an image or video for a long enough time, the main subject of the photo or video becomes much more prone to being the main subject of your dreams?"

All of the blood in my body suddenly rushes to my face. "R-really?"

Chuckling, she leaves my side, moving towards the centre of the room. I turn towards her to see her lazily twirl around, looking up at her lights. I realize how personal of a space we're in, how this is Carmilla's room, as in where she sleeps and spends most of her time, no doubt, and, of course, where she puts all of her gorgeous pictures. She might as well have given me a tour of the inside of her soul. I realize how special this experience must be and try to cherish every second that passes by, watching her twirl with absolutely no music.

When she stops, I notice her bed. It looks like an angry black stormcloud, one that's especially soft and comfortable to lay on. I grin, walking towards it and sitting down, pushing my hands into the mattress.

Carmilla notices this and smirks once again. "Making yourself comfortable there, cupcake?"

"Your bed is so soft, Carm!" I laugh, bouncing up and down. I lay all the way down across her bed, feeling myself sink into the cloud-like mattress pad.

"As adorable as that may be, I told you not to call me that," she said, sitting down next to me.

I sit up, looking sheepish. "Oh! Yeah. Sorry."

Carmilla shakes her head, looking down at her lap. "It's not your fault."

There we go again with the strange double-meaning that I'm too afraid to ask about. But a question slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. "Hey, Carmilla, why does your brother call you Mircalla?"

Carmilla chuckles. "You never stop being curious about everything, do you?"

I shake my head. "I'm a journalist. It's my nature."

Carmilla sighs, looking at me with a small smile. "Well, that used to be my name."

"What do you mean?" I ask, scooting closer to her.

"Mircalla Karnstein is my birth name," she begins, shifting her position into a more relaxed one. "Who knows where mother got my name from, it's probably the middle name of my great-great-grandmother or something obscure like that. All I know is that Mother saw it as the greatest and most beautiful name her youngest little girl could have. I was this precious diamond in her eyes my whole life. My older sister Matska, Mattie for short, was her oldest, but Mattie has been a rebel from the beginning so mother gave up on her early on. And I think she wanted William to be another girl because she really never seemed to care about him much either; in fact she would always ridicule and punish him the most for no reason, like she was always blaming him for being a boy and not the baby little girl that she wanted. So I was always her perfect little girl, her last hope. And when Father died, she depended on this even more, and that's a lot of pressure to put on a child, so one day, when I was around 12 years old, I just… cracked. I started doing all of these crazy, rebellious things behind my mother's back, which were usually fuelled by Mattie, but eventually I just started doing it on my own. And not too long after, she found out about them. And she tried to fix me at first, to revert me back into who I was, but she realized she couldn't and that this is who I was now, that I wasn't her little glimmering perfect girl anymore, and she snapped." She pauses her story to lean back into a more comfortable position. "I remember when I was maybe 16 and she caught me smoking pot for the first time, how I literally watched her crumble before my eyes and yelled at me about how her 'perfect girl Mircalla had turned into such a disappointment.' It was embarrassing, really. I was with someone I had a pretty decent crush on at the time. My mother became this menacing, judgemental, awful being that I desperately wanted to get away from all of the time. So I moved out and changed my name the second I could so I could have a fresh, clean start and a new life without my mother lingering in it every time someone merely says my name."

It's a lot to take in, but my brain slowly processes it. "Why Carmilla?" I ask. "What drew you to changing your name to that? Not that it isn't a good name. I think it's cool and different."

Carmilla smiles. "I spent hours switching up the letters in Mircalla to find endless different combinations. I liked Carmilla the best out of all of the anagrams." There's a silence between us for a moment before she speaks up again. "I'm sorry if I bored you with my long backstory. I don't mean to talk for so long about my past but I always end up telling the whole story."

I place my hand on Carmilla's shoulder. "You tell stories well. I loved hearing it. You should tell me more sometime."

Cassandra comes lumbering into the room from nowhere, jumping up onto the bed and tackling me with love, almost knocking me over. I squeal in excitement, Cassie desperately trying to lick my face.

After Carmilla laughs, she asks, "Would you like to hear about how Cassandra came into my life?"

I sit up, wide-eyed, nodding my head. Cassie settles her head down in my lap, satisfied.

Carmilla reaches out and strokes Cassie's head. "On my 21st birthday, I opened the door to my apartment and there was a basket full of blankets. And all wrapped up in the blankets was a 2 month old dalmatian puppy with a satin red bow tied around its neck and a handwritten note. I quickly brought her inside and read the note. It was from my mother, and I still remember exactly what the note said. 'This is Cassandra. She is of the purest breed of dalmatian, for my darling, diamond girl. Treat her well. -Mother.' No happy birthday, no I love you or anything. I was disgusted by the idea of this dog being 'pure' and upset that she had bought a purebred puppy for me instead of adopting a perfectly good dog in desperate need of a home from the shelter, and I didn't think I was going to keep her, but I took one look into that puppy's eyes and…"

"You fell in love," I blurt, finishing her sentence.

Carmilla continues to stroke Cassie's head. "Yeah. I suppose I did."

I smile. "That's a very… bittersweet story," I say.

Carmilla smiles and stands, walking over to a cabinet and opening it to reveal a TV and rows of DVD's. "We should watch a movie, don't you think?"

"Yeah!" I squeal in excitement. "I love movies. We should watch a Harry Potter movie!"

Carmilla chuckles. "Let's watch something that my little brother didn't forced me to watch about a million times when we were younger."

I pout in protest, but Carmilla looks unconvinced. She goes back to searching her collection, smiling when she pulls one out. "Do you like Tim Burton movies?"

I nod. "Usually. Edward Scissorhands was pretty good."

"He's my favourite director," she says. "I'm obsessed with his movies. But, in particular, this one. I believe it's my favourite movie of all time." She tosses the DVD box over to me. I catch it and look at the cover.

"Beetlejuice," I read aloud. "I think I've heard of this one. Isn't young Winona Ryder in it?"

Carmilla grins and nods. "She's the best part about it, too."

I agree to watch it so she turns on the TV and pops in the disc. I reposition myself on the bed so I can see the screen while lying down, getting under the covers. Cassie snuggles up close to me, resting her head on my stomach. Carmilla slouches down right next to me on my other side, and her presence is so close that I feel like I can't breathe properly because of her proximity. But it's the type of utter breathlessness that you never want to stop feeling.

About a third of the way into the movie, I can feel my eyelids getting droopy. I try desperately to stay awake, but when it's late in the night and you're incredibly warm from the blankets and a large dog is basically spooning you it's hard not to feel very sleepy. I can feel my consciousness slipping away, but before I'm fully gone, I swear I can feel a hand stroking its fingers through my hair very delicately, and although it's almost a ghost of a feeling I know I can feel it and I know I'm not crazy. I fight to stay awake as long as I can so I can experience more of this feeling, but I soon slip away and give in to the inky blackness of sleep.

* * *

I wake up to Cassie's face right in front of mine. I groan and lift my head up to see that I'm cuddling with her and the blankets have been pulled over both of us. I've never felt so cozy in my life.

I look over Cassie to see Carmilla sitting in a chair, looking out the window of her bedroom. There is very dim light coming from the window and illuminating her face ever so slightly.

For a few minutes, I just watch her. She's wearing casual clothes that hug her body perfectly and looking out the window with a slightly somber expression, like something's troubling her. She barely moves, just the occasional twitch of her face, like a cat when something is bothering it.

She looks lonely. Broken, almost. And I hate myself for thinking so, but it's so flipping beautiful. Everything about her is just...

"Careful, cutie. Keep staring at me like that and I might get the wrong idea."

My face immediately flushes as she turns her head towards me, smirking a legendary smirk. The familiar feeling of breathlessness is back. "S-sorry, I- I was just- I-I wasn't- what time is it?"

Carmilla chuckles throatily. "It's 6 am."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I didn't even mean to sleep here, I was going to go home. I guess I was really tired."

"It's alright," she says between a ghost of a yawn. "A storm started right about when you fell asleep. I wouldn't of wanted you to be going home in this weather anyway."

My heart warms at the idea of Carmilla being concerned for my well-being. "Have you slept at all?" I ask quietly, trying not to wake the slumbering dog practically in my arms.

"No. My bedtime is usually around 6 or 7am, remember? So I'll probably go to sleep soon."

I glance up at her sheepishly. "Would you like me to leave?"

She pivots her body in the chair so both her body and her head are facing me more than before. She smirks. "Not particularly."

I blush. I think she can tell, because she chuckles again and her smile grows. "Feel free to cuddle with my dog and sleep in as long as you like."

I have to admit, I am really tired and comfortable. So I tell her thank you and lay my head down on the pillow, and almost immediately I can feel myself being tugged back into sleep.

* * *

 **Next chapter up probably next Monday. Don't forget to review and all the rest, thanks!**


	5. Part 5: The Photo Shoot

When I wake up again, Cassie is gone and so is Carmilla.

I feel a pang of disappointment in my chest. I was sort of looking forward to seeing her there again, casually lounging in that chair and looking broody as always, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I get out of bed, walking over to gather my stuff, when I see that there's a note not unlike the one taped to my door just yesterday, as well as a large envelope. I pick them up and read the note.

Going to sleep in the guest room where Mattie sleeps at night, it says. Didn't want to disturb you; you looked very peaceful. Feel free to leave whenever you like, help yourself to anything in the fridge (except for the soy milk. We're almost out and I'll be needing that later.) But whatever you do, DON'T CONVERSE WITH MATTIE ON THE WAY OUT. -Carmilla.

PS: The envelope is a gift for you.

I grin, opening the envelope eagerly. I pull out the contents.

It's a large, glossy, printed-out photo. And it's of me, from the evening at the abandoned theme park when we first met. My head is tilted up towards the sky, letting smoke curl out of my mouth and my blonde hair is a mess and I feel like I look awkward but it doesn't matter because this is by far the most beautiful photo of me I've ever seen and I feel like someone set a fire in my stomach. The photo is raw and real and I love everything about it.

I put the photo back inside the envelope, gather my things, and leave her room, prepared to walk home. But before I can get to the front door, a voice comes from the living room.

"Darling, you're not leaving the apartment looking like that, are you?"

I turn to see William passed out on the couch, hugging an empty bottle of Jack Daniel's, and a woman sitting cross-legged next to him, giving me an eerie smile.

"Um…" I say, looking down at my clothes. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just walking home."

"Ah, the walk of shame after an exciting night with Mircalla," she sighed, standing up and leisurely walking towards me. "If only I had a dollar for the amount of girls my little sister has brought here for the night and has eventually sent running with their tail between their legs by morning, I'd be the richest woman in the world!" She lets out a laugh that sends shivers down my spine. "But, I must admit, you are the first in a long while."

So this is Mattie. I must say, she's gorgeous, with long legs and raven hair, but intimidating as hell. And I shouldn't even be talking to her. Carmilla made that pretty clear.

"Oh, no, it wasn't like that. We're just friends," I laugh awkwardly. "It was nice to meet you, but I really-"

"Oh, but I'm sure that's not how you wish things were, is it, darling?" Mattie says, ignoring my obvious attempt to escape. "Well, I wouldn't get your hopes up, little one. Ever since Elle, dear Mircalla has never been the same…"

Who in the world is Elle? I think.

"Look, I really have to go," I say, opening the door.

"Well, that's too bad," Mattie says. "Hopefully we'll see each other again."

"Yeah," I say flatly. "Goodbye!" I close the door quickly, letting out the breath I didn't even know I was holding in.

And I thought Carmilla was intimidating at first.

* * *

My phone starts ringing at around 8pm. I know exactly who it is before I even look at my phone.

Sure enough, it's Carmilla calling me. My heart rate speeds up and I get the usual jitters before I answer the call.

"Hey, Carmilla!" I say quickly.

"Hey, cupcake," she says with a sultry voice. "How are you?"

"I'm awesome," I say. "I want to thank you for the photo. You were totally right about it; that turned out to be a very good picture."

"I was quite pleased with it as well," she says. "It turned out very nicely."

"Was there a reason that you decided to call me?" I ask. "Or are you calling me just because?"

"Actually, there is a reason I called you. Did Mattie talk to you when you left?"

My smile vanishes. "Um, yeah. I tried to avoid her but it was… kind of impossible."

Carmilla sighs. "Whatever she told you about me, it isn't true. I'm sure she tried to mention all my past hookups and make you feel really uncomfortable. That's what she always does. Just ignore all of that, okay? She gets her diabolical manipulativeness from Mother."

"Okay," I say, not really sure how to respond.

"Did she mention Elle?"

My stomach drops. "Yeah, actually. She did."

"Fuck," she mutters under her breath. "I knew she would."

"Carmilla, you don't have to explain-"

"No. I want to tell you about her."

I silence myself. This sounds serious.

"Before Elle, my life was full of empty hookups and one-night stands that meant nothing to me. And then I met Elle in the fall a few years ago, when I was almost 20. We met at a Halloween party. I was dressed as Count Dracula. She was dressed as Lucy from Dracula. I think you could say we were destined," she chuckles. "We dated for a long time, at least for my standards back then. A year and a half, almost exactly. And we were so in love. We did everything together. But towards the end of our relationship I noticed she became distant. She would miss a lot of my calls and stopped coming to my apartment as much. One day I went to her apartment to bring her a birthday present, and when I knocked on the door it was open. I went inside and I caught her sleeping with this guy named Marcus that I had met at the Halloween party and other parties over the years, too. And when we broke up, it was messy. At least for me it was. It didn't even feel like she was upset, or mad, even. I don't think she ever really loved me, not nearly as much as I loved her. Needless to say, I was incredibly heartbroken."

"Carm, that's awful," I sigh. I realize I called her the forbidden nickname and quickly apologize. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay," she sighs. "You can call me that. I was upset about it before because it's something Elle used to call me, and when you started calling me that… well, you just remind me of her sometimes, that's all. But I can't let my past haunt me. I have to let go and move on."

Butterflies. They're everywhere. I can't breathe. I remind her of her past love?

There's a long pause over the phone, filled with anticipation. Carmilla finally speaks up again.

"Do you remember everything I said about bathtubs a few days back?"

I nod. "Yes, of course," I respond verbally.

There's another pause. "Laura… I still want to do that photo shoot, and I thought… I don't know, I thought…" she pauses, longer than she should.

"You thought what?"

"Well… I thought maybe you could do it. Be my model, I mean. I'll pay you, of course, just like I'd pay a professional model. And you have every right to say no. But, well, I just thought… since that last photo came out so well…"

I don't even know what to say. My heart feels like it's imploding in on itself. "Carmilla, I would love to be your model for the bathtub photo shoot. You don't even have to pay me. I'd be happy to do it for free."

"No, creampuff, let me pay you," Carmilla says in a serious tone. "Please. It's the least I can do."

I decide not to argue with her any further. Arguing with her is so hard. God, I'm so whipped, aren't I?

"Are you free this Friday evening?" she asks me tentatively.

"Yeah, I am," I say in almost a whisper. I seriously can't stop smiling.

"Come to my apartment at 6:30pm. I'm taking Friday night off of work. We'll have the whole evening and night to shoot."

"Okay, sounds good!" I say with enthusiasm. I've never felt such a mix of pure excitement and terror. "Is there anything specific I should bring or wear?"

"Nah. I have everything, including clothes for you to wear that will look perfect."

Okay. I think she's actually trying to give me a heart attack on purpose.

After talking logistics about the photo shoot for a little longer we say goodbye and hang up. I can't really process what just happened. All I know is that I've never been more excited for anything.

* * *

When Friday evening comes, I get to Carmilla's apartment at 6:30 on the dot. I knock and I can already hear Cassie running up to the door.

When she opens the door I have to hold in a gasp.

She's wearing those damn leather pants again. God, they're so tight and they fit her so well that they make my eyes feel like they're popping out of their sockets when I look at her in them. Her eyes are rimmed with the same eyeliner, and she even has on some smokey eyeshadow and lipstick a beautiful shade of dark red. She has a different band t-shirt on now, one that's shorter and more revealing, that has cool designs and says The Growlers on it. And that choker necklace… Dammit she looks so good. Do I even look remotely okay enough? I probably look like a trash bag compared to her!

Carmilla chuckles. "Hey, sundance. Glad to see you're enjoying the view." With that, she smirks and turns around, walking into her apartment. "Follow me."

Oh, shit. I must've been checking her out more obviously than I thought. I can feel my face turning bright red as I obey her command, Cassandra close behind me.

Carmilla leads me into a dimly candlelit bathroom, one that's pretty small but big enough to contain an old-fashioned clawfoot bathtub that's currently being filled up with water. Steam rises as the water rushes into the tub and the whole room feels warm and cozy. The flickering orange light of the candles makes everything even more beautiful and I look around in awe.

"This is gorgeous," I say to her. "Did you set this up all by yourself?"

She nods. "Will is out, probably drinking at a dingy bar somewhere, and Mattie had some secretive business to attend to and won't be back until tomorrow, so there was no one else to help me with it."

I look around some more, smiling. "You really have an eye for setting up a shot, don't you?"

Carmilla shrugs. She starts repositioning a tripod that's sitting in front of the bathtub. "I do my best." After she finishes with the tripod, she grabs a pile of clothes I hadn't noticed before that were sitting on the closed toilet seat. "Here, these are the clothes I wanted you to wear. Try them on in my room, see how they fit."

I take them gingerly, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. What if I'm not the right person for this? What if she changes her mind and doesn't want me for this photoshoot? I mean, there's about a million different people she could've asked to do this. So why me? I subconsciously look down on the tile floor, feeling my cheeks warm.

Carmilla notices my sudden anxiety. I watch as she brings her fingers under my chin, lifting up my head to look into her dark eyes.

"Hey, creampuff," she says in a soft, raspy voice. "Don't be nervous. You'll do perfectly. I promise. And if there's anything you aren't comfortable with, just let me know, okay?"

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding and nod as she takes her fingers away, smiling and then going back to fixing the tripod and maneuvering her camera to get just the right angle. My heart is pounding but I try to ignore it, leaving the bathroom and walking to her room.

I throw on the clothes and look at myself in the mirror, my jaw dropping to the floor. It's a loose white undershirt and black shorts. Usually I would be worried about how these clothes are too revealing but it's not like I'm going out in them, and honestly, I look hot. I smile at my reflection, turning around in the mirror to see every angle. After roughing up my hair a bit, I walk back to the bathroom, closing the door behind me and apologizing to Cassie when she tries to get inside and I don't allow her in.

The tub is finished filling up with water and Carmilla is still fidgeting with the tripod and the camera, but upon my return to the bathroom she turns around, beginning to say something to me. She stops when she finishes turning around.

I almost smirk because I can tell she's trying not to ogle me. Her eyes flick up and down so briefly I almost think I imagine it.

"Do you think these clothes are okay?" I say, turning and giving her the whole 360 degree view. I'd be lying if I said that in the back of my mind I wasn't trying to tease her a little bit with this gesture.

"Yes," Carmilla says roughly. Her eyes have darkened. "Yes, those are perfect." She turns back around to the camera, adjusting it one last time before turning back around to me, all of her perfect composure and seductiveness regained. "Time for you to get in the tub now, poptart."

I giggle. "Poptart? That's a new one," I say, walking towards the tub, taking a careful step into it. The water is so warm and feels amazing on my cold feet.

"Thought I'd try it out. You like it?" she says with a huge smirk on her face.

"Carm, you can call me whatever you want. I don't mind."

"That's good to hear, cheesecake."

"Okay, now you're just being ridiculous."

Carmilla laughs. Have I mentioned how much I love her laugh? It's like listening to raspy, gorgeous sleigh bells.

I start to lower myself into the tub slowly. It feels strange to do this with clothing on, although I'm really not wearing much clothing at all. Even my bra is just a thin, white sports bra. Once I've submerged completely, I lift my head above the water, smoothing down my hair and wiping the water from my eyes.

Carmilla is watching my every move like a hawk. I don't even have to look at her to recognize this, I can just feel it. It makes me feel like my insides are on a seesaw, bouncing up and down and making it hard to breathe properly. Of course, by now, I'm used to this feeling.

"Is the temperature of the bath okay?" she asks. "We can make it warmer or cooler if you want."

"No, it's perfect! It feels amazing, actually. Let's get started!" I say eagerly.

Carmilla begins to instruct me to get into different poses. I do as I'm told and she snaps a few photos for each pose. This goes on for a while. At one point, she runs out of photos on her roll, so she changes the roll and keeps going. It's an endless amount of poses; completely submerged and stretched out, curled in a little ball, draped over the sides, and many more. It's pretty fun, actually. Not even once do I feel bored.

After a while of this, I start noticing that Carmilla's expression seems to be changing. As the sessions go on, her neutral, serious face begins to melt into something much softer and more intrigued. No, not intrigued, more like… amazed.

"These photos are going to be some of the best I've ever taken," Carmilla says after about twenty minutes of photographing me. There's something different in her voice; it's lower and raspier than before and makes my heart feel like a drop ride.

"Y-you really think so?" I ask in an almost squeaky voice.

She nods, looking me right in the eyes. "I know so."

I sink down a little so my mouth is submerged in the water and smile.

Carmilla looks down at her camera. Something's brewing in her mind, I can tell. She smirks, bringing a hand up to her face to rest it on her chin. "I just had a really good idea for a shot."

I sit up a little more, the warm water sloshing around me. "Yeah? What is it?"

She toys with a little lever on the front of the camera. "If I set this timer, I can click the button that takes the picture and have the camera actually take the photo 10 seconds after pressing down on it. Which means… I could make the shot more interesting by getting in the tub with you. Would you be up for that?"

Holy shit she did not just ask me that.

What in Hagrid's name do I respond with? I want to say yes but my mouth is frozen in place. She's giving me this look that is making the whole world around me feel like it's falling apart. How could I say no to that? How could I say no to such a request? Who could ever say no?

I nod, finally regaining control. "Yeah, that would be awesome."

Carmilla smiles and shrugs, obviously trying to act nonchalant. "Alright. Let's try it out."

And then she begins to strip. Right in front of me. Like, full-on taking her clothes off. First her shirt, swiftly, and then she kicks off her boots and slowly peels off her leather pants. All that's left is her black bra and underwear. She turns towards the camera, pushing down on the lever, looks through the viewfinder and clicks the shutter speed. I can hear a faint ticking and whirring coming from the camera.

And now she's walking toward the tub and the closer she gets the closer I come to feeling like I'm having a heart attack. Quickly, she steps into the tub and sits down right next to me, her body causing the water levels to rise dramatically, but not enough to overflow.

"Submerge yourself completely into the water," she says roughly. I immediately take a deep breath and dunk under the water with my head and the rest of whatever is sticking out.

Everything underwater is silent, and dark. My eyes are squeezed shut and I have only one sense out of five to rely on; touch. And the feeling is absolutely thrilling. I can feel her body shifting around next to mine. I think she's dunking herself under the water now, too. All of a sudden there's hands on my face, and I can feel what I believe to be her forehead pressed against the side of my head, in fact her whole body is suddenly pressed against the side of my own body and somehow I've never felt more alive and I can't even physically breathe.

It's definitely been a couple moments longer than ten seconds when I feel Carmilla release my head and lift above the water, so I do the same, the sudden ability to hear feeling strange. Everything feels louder than before. I wipe my eyes, blinking them rapidly to get all of the water out of them, and look at Carmilla.

She's running her hand through the wet, glossy strands of her hair, eyeliner running a little. She brings her knees up and rests her arm on them, turning her head to look at me and giving me a small smile. The sides of our bodies are still touching and Holy Hogwarts this is the most intimate experience I've ever had with anyone in my whole life.

"D-do you think the photo came out okay?" I say in a soft voice. I'm pretty sure it's the only thing I'm capable of saying right now.

She nods her head slowly, still looking at me. She reaches out and pushes away a wet piece of hair that was stuck to my face. I glance down at her lips briefly, feeling like I know where this is going.

And then, she stands up. Out of nowhere. She grabs the towel off the towel rack. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I get up out of the tub anyway, water dripping off of me everywhere. I look around, but I don't see another towel anywhere near me.

"Carm, could I get a-"

Something snakes around my waist and pulls me in another direction. When I realize it's a towel, I turn my head forward, and Carmilla's face is now just a few inches from mine.

"Towel?" she says low, finishing my sentence. She takes the towel from around my waist and moves it up onto my hair, massaging my head with it to dry my hair. She has the biggest smirk yet. "You can use mine, creampuff."

I almost laugh. Instead, I just grin. "Okay. Now I know you're just teasing me."

Carmilla gives me a sultry look. "What ever are you talking about?" she says sarcastically. She uses a corner of the towel to dry off the water droplets from my face, slowly and gingerly caressing my cheeks and my jaw with the soft material.

I can't help it. I reach out with one of my hands and thread my fingers through her dark, wet hair. When I do this, her eyes visibly darker and something in her demeanor becomes more lustful. She moves her hands down to my waist, bringing me closer so our hips are touching, and leans in painfully slow.

A bolt of electricity makes every hair on my body stand on end when her incredibly soft lips come into contact with mine. The kiss is slow and gentle, nothing like I've ever experienced before. I usually fight a little over dominance when it comes to kissing someone but I know I have no chance against the ever-dominant Carmilla. I immediately surrender myself to the feeling of her lips and open my mouth just a little, as in to let her know she has absolutely all of the control over this situation. I think she recognizes this because I feel her smile against my mouth as she lets out a low hum, somehow drawing me even closer with her hands and deepening the kiss.

We kiss lazily but passionately a few more times before Carmilla bites down on my lower lip softly and pulls away, bringing her hand to my face and looking me in the eyes.

"How about we dry off and get ready for bed? For the first time in years I actually want to get in bed before midnight."

I nod slowly, still in shock from the all-time best kiss I have ever experienced by a longshot.

Carmilla smirks. "Feeling a little speechless, cupcake?"

I nod again, not able to suppress a grin.

She drags her finger from my forehead down the length of my nose, sending shivers down my back. "And why is that?"

"Because I feel like I'm dreaming," I blurt out. How am I able to talk right now? "You're like a living wet dream." Shit. Did I just say that out loud? I can feel my face turning red very quickly.

But I can tell Carmilla is all over that compliment. She's smirking like nothing I've ever seen before.

Carmilla quickly kisses me, her lips lingering a little longer than a normal peck usually lasts, then pulls away and winks, squeezing my side playfully. "Dry off and change. I'll get ready in my room and clean this up later. Don't forget to blow out the candles so my apartment doesn't burn down." And with that, she turns, leaving me with the towel and grabbing another from a cabinet, and walks with leisure out of the bathroom, still in only her bra and underwear.

When she leaves, I let out the squeal I've been holding in for quite some time now and hope to God that I don't pass out before getting ready to sleep in Carmilla's bed. And this time, with her in it. I can't stop smiling to myself as I dry off and strip off the wet clothes.

 _This has been one of the best nights of my life. How could anything ever top this?_

* * *

 **Part 5, the longest part so far! Hope you guys enjoy. As always, leave kudos/comment/etc. Let me know how you feel about my story, it really helps me write. The final part, part 6, will be posted by this weekend.**


	6. Part 6: Christmas

When I finish changing and walk into Carmilla's bedroom, I find her lying on her bed in pajama shorts and a tank top, lazily reading an old book with a title on the cover in a language I don't even recognize. The covers are thrown over her and Cassie is curled up at the end of the bed. Upon my arrival, she turns her head to look at me and smiles, putting the book down on her nightstand. She leans on her side and gestures for me to get under the covers next to her. All sorts of fireworks go off in my body as I grin and get onto her bed, positioning myself on my back so I can look up at her. She smirks down at me. We just look at each other for a couple of heart-wrenching seconds before she speaks.

"Hey," she says, bringing a hand to the top of my head. She begins to run her fingers through my hair.

"Hey," I say, closing my eyes and nuzzling into her shoulder. I'm smiling like an idiot but I don't even care.

She cups my face with her hand and starts gently moving her thumb across my cheek. "I was thinking about you, while you were changing in the bathroom."

I pull away to look at her, an eyebrow raised. But I'm smiling nevertheless.

Carmilla laughs. "Okay, that was phrased wrong. I meant about this Christmas, which is somehow only in a couple days. Ever since I moved out when I was 18, my Christmas's suck because it's the one night of year that I have to put up with my mother and my siblings. It's literally the only night I see them, and it gets intense and awful every year. So, I was thinking that… well, if you were there for our Christmas eve dinner, it wouldn't be so bad. But I understand if you have plans. You probably do."

Seriously, this woman is trying to kill me. I grin, draping my arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "I'm spending the early evening with LaFontaine and Perry. We're exchanging gifts and decorating a tree. But I can totally leave a little early to come to your dinner. What time does it start?"

Carmilla looks ecstatic. "8:30. We eat dinner a little later than usual."

"That works perfectly. I'll be there."

Carmilla grabs me by the waist and pulls me towards her, entangling our legs. She kisses me softly quite a few times and I almost feel dizzy because it feels so good. She pulls away for a second to say, "Thank you. It's going to be the best Christmas I've ever had in a long, long time."

After kissing a little more, I nuzzle into her chest, and that night I sleep better than ever.

* * *

"The _left_ , LaFontaine! I said tilt the star to the _left!_ You're making it worse!" Perry exclaims.

It's Christmas eve and I'm watching LaFontaine, who is on a ladder on their tiptoes, struggle to adjust the star at the top of a huge Christmas tree we just finished decorating. They look like they're about to fall over, so they reposition themself as they sigh, slumping down. "Per, I'm trying my best here, okay? This is a lot harder than it looks."

Finally, after some more maneuvering and Perry yelling uselessly, the star finally looks like it's straight and LaFontaine climbs down the ladder, looking exhausted. All three of us look at the tree with pride.

"The tree looks amazing, you guys!" I exclaim. "Perry, you really went all out with that tinsel."

Perry smiles. "I must say, it's been really nice moving around even a little and doing something productive after having to lay down in that hospital bed for so long," she sighs, looking down at the cast on her leg.

"I'm glad you're okay and out of the hospital in time to celebrate the holidays properly, Perry," I say, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She smiles at me. "Thank you, Laura. I am too."

LaFontaine jumps down from the ladder, a grin suddenly plastered on their face. "I think it's finally time for presents and Christmas cookies!"

I grin. "I agree! I love me some cookies."

LaFontaine rushes into the kitchen, coming back out with a platter. "Good, because Perry and I made enough gingerbread people to make a whole gingerbread village."

While eating gingerbread and guzzling down some delicious eggnog, we open our presents that we've given to one another. LaFontaine received a brand-new colourful chemistry set from Perry and a Christmas sweater decorated with different science-related objects, such as pipettes and microscopes. Perry received some muffin tins and fun-shaped cookie cutters from me, and a brand new vacuum from LaF. Perry was very excited about the vacuum; apparently it was the type she had been wanting for a while, and her old vacuum was starting to get crummy. LaFontaine gave me a new SD card for my video camera that had a lot more storage than my other one, as well as a nicer lens. Perry gave me a cool new book that I'm excited to read, and a dozen of my favourite cookies in the world: Perry's famous chocolate chip banana cookies. She even decorated the box she put them in with cut-out photos of Harry Potter characters.

After the hype over our new awesome stuff died down a little, I glanced at the clock, which read 7:48.

"Oh, hey, I gotta go really soon," I say, standing up and starting to gather my new stuff.

LaF frowns. "Really? Where to?"

I blush a little, smiling. "Carmilla invited me over for Christmas dinner with her family."

LaFontaine immediately makes fake, over-exaggerated swooning noises.

"Oh, shut up, you!" I say, swatting at them.

"Just admit it, Laur. You've had a crush on her since I mentioned it at the Lustig cafe the day after your first phone call with her." LaFontaine begins to twirl their hair, looking dreamy. "Oh, LaF, I don't know what to do…" they begin, poorly imitating my voice. "I accidentally called this girl… she helped me sooooo much while I was in danger… Her voice was so _sexy…"_

I laugh hysterically. "Oh my God, stop! You're killing me! I never said any of that!"

"Psh, whatever, you might as well have," LaF says. "I'm just proud of myself for predicting all of this so early on. When you called me a couple of days ago telling me you guys kissed, I was like, 'Yeah you did! I'm freaking psychic!'"

Perry decides to interject. "Okay, I'm quite confused about this entire conversation. Who is this 'Carmilla' we are speaking of?"

My jaw drops. So does LaFontaine's. "Wait. We haven't told you about Carmilla yet?"

"Laura's got a new girlfriend, Perry!" LaFontaine sputters immediately. "A really mysterious, goth one! She showed me a picture!"

"Woah, slow down, I never said she was my girlfriend! We haven't quite gotten there yet," I say, sighing. "Also, she's not goth! She's… well, okay, yeah, I guess you're right. She's pretty goth."

"When did this happen?" Perry asks.

LaFontaine and I explain everything from the beginning.

"Wow!" Perry exclaims. "I guess being in the hospital really keeps you out of the loop. Congratulations, Laura."

After LaFontaine teases me playfully a little more about Carmilla, I say my goodbyes and thank-yous and Happy Holiday's, leaving the two of them to have the rest of their Christmas alone with each other. I think that's what they both secretly wanted, anyway.

* * *

When I arrive, Carmilla opens the door looking incredibly tense.

My grin that I've been wearing for a while now fades away. I'm about to ask her what's wrong before she interrupts me.

"My mother just got here before you did, and she's already found hundreds of ways to piss me off," she growls.

I laugh. "Well, merry Christmas to you too, Carmilla."

Carmilla's tense face drops and suddenly she's smirking her legendary smirk again, giving me chills. "I already feel a thousand times better with you here." She glances down at the wrapped box in my hands. "Is that a present?"

I blush. "Oh, y-yeah… it's for you. I got you a couple things. A-and I got something for Cassie too!"

Carmilla smiles. "How sweet, cupcake. Thank you."

My grin returns. "I would have gotten something for the rest of your family but I really don't think I know them well enough…"

Carmilla laughs. "Trust me, they won't care. Besides, I bought them presents I think they'll like, so we can say they're from the both of us. I debated getting my mother a present this year. I decided I should, just so she wouldn't bite my head off."

Carmilla lets me in and beelines for the couch, sitting down next to Cassie, who's resting and thumping her tail excitedly as she begins to pet her. There's a pretty decently sized tree that's decorated and sitting in the corner of the living room. I can hear chatter coming from somewhere.

"My mother and my siblings are in the kitchen," Carmilla explains. "I'll introduce you when they come out."

I nod and sit down next to her, smiling when she puts her hand on my thigh. "Are you having a good Christmas?" I ask.

A smirk flashes over her face as she leans in and her hand goes up _much_ higher along my thigh than I anticipated. "Now I am."

 _Holy crap. I'm simultaneously glad and terrified that I'm wearing a dress right now._

Just as things are about to get interesting, the whole family decides to walk in. Of course.

Will looks like he's holding back hysterical laughter. Her mother, who, by the way, is 6 feet of purely terrifying woman, looks disapproving.

Mattie simply laughs. "Mircalla, how bold! Learn to play with your toys _after_ your family leaves, will you?"

My face is as red as a beet but Carmilla seems completely calm and unphased. She nonchalantly takes her hand off of my inner thigh and sighs. "How about you learn to call me by my actual name?"

I stand quickly before Mattie and Carmilla begin to argue and introduce myself to her mother. After an awkward first meeting with the most intimidating woman alive, Mattie goes and gets the turkey and the rest of the food that she has prepared and we sit down for dinner as Mattie puts food on our plates.

Almost immediately after we get our food, Carmilla's mother starts the conversation with a criticism. "Mircalla, sit up straight. That posture will get you nowhere in life." She's chewing on the turkey Mattie apparently worked very hard to make like it's the most bland turkey she's ever eaten.

Carmilla glares at the older woman. "For the billionth time, my name isn't Mircalla anymore. How many times do I have to remind you people?"

"I still don't understand why you changed your name," the woman sighs. "Mircalla is a beautiful name, one that I gave you. You should feel proud of it. ' _Carmilla'_ isn't even a real name, it's a meaningless word you made up."

Carmilla looks like she's about to flip the table. "Well, it has meaning for me. It's my name now, and it has been for 6 whole years. Deal with it!"

Her mother rolls her eyes. "Dramatic as always," she mutters under her breath, before turning to Mattie, who is sitting next to her. "Matska, dear, how is work?"

As I listen to Mattie talk about work with her mother, and then later Mattie and Will fighting about meaningless things from across the table, I suddenly feel Carmilla's hand returning to the same spot on my thigh that it had been on in the living room. I look over at her, and her face has returned to its normal, calm state, not acknowledging her hand placement or the fact that I'm looking at her at all. I turn away and my face once again flushes cherry-red as Carmilla's fingers lightly caress the elastic of my underwear.

When the table goes silent, I realize someone must have asked me a question. Carmilla's mother is looking at me expectantly.

"S-sorry, what?" I ask her.

She looked annoyed that I didn't hear her the first time. "I asked what it is you do for a living."

"Oh. Well, I'm a student at Silas, in my senior year, majoring in journalism. I help out at the campus news station, the Voice of Silas, to pay the bills. Sometimes they'll even pay me to do broadcasts. I want to be a legitimate journalist one day, though."

"Ah, the Voice of Silas. That's why you look familiar. I watch some of those updates sometimes. We have quite the little newscasting team, don't we?"

I scrunch up my face in confusion, but also in pleasure because Carmilla's fingers are now making lazy circles over my underwear and _oh my God Carmilla if you keep teasing me like that I swear I'm going to moan out loud right at this dinner table in front of your family._ "U-um, we? Do you work at Silas University?" _Shit shit shit Carmilla's finger is getting so ridiculously close to my-_

Mattie chuckles. "Not only that, darling. She's the Dean of Students."

My eyes widen. " _You're_ Dean Morgan?"

Lilita Morgan flashes her eyes angrily over at Carmilla. "Mircalla, you're joking. She goes to Silas and you didn't tell her that your own mother is the Dean of her University?"

Carmilla shrugs. She's still slowly moving her fingers, driving me insane. I'd grab at her hand to stop it but it would be too obvious. I'm trying my hardest not to visibly squirm.

"Didn't think it was important enough to mention to her," Carmilla replies with snark.

The Dean scoffs. "Don't be ridiculous. That's incredibly important for people to know."

Will speaks up for the first time since his fight with Mattie. "Yeah, _Carmilla._ So important," he slurs.

"Shut up and keep guzzling down your champagne, weasel brain," Carmilla snaps at him.

"That is no way to talk to your brother!" the Dean roars.

Mattie laughs heartily. "No, don't stop, Mircalla! I think your insults are simply _delicious,_ " she chimes in with an evil grin.

Dean Morgan blatantly ignores Mattie comment. "You know he's been working on his drinking problem."

"Yeah, well, clearly he's not working very hard," Carmilla mutters.

"Stop being insensitive," her mother says sternly.

Mattie rubs her hands together. "Here we go," she mutters, still grinning and looking right at me. "This is where the night gets interesting."

Carmilla is seething, apparently too angry now to be touching me and suddenly I feel like I can properly breathe when she takes her hand away, but I still kind of want it there. "Oh, right, like how you've never been insensitive because you're such a perfect little saint," Carmilla growls. Her tension is building. "God, you're such a fucking hypocrite! Since when have you ever given a shit about his drinking problem? Were you the one who used to lock away his liquor stash so he couldn't get to it when we were teenagers? Were you the one who consoled Mattie when she lost her best friend to a neighbourhood shooting? No! I was! You were never there for any of that. You never fucking cared enough because we're all just your shitty little disappointments. That's all we've ever been since our father got in that stupid fucking car accident! So don't you _dare_ even _begin_ to call me insensitive."

The silence that follows this is ear-shattering. I think Carmilla started tearing up a little at the end of her angry rant because she's turning her head away and wiping at her eyes.

Carmilla's mother looks a little shocked. She stands up, places her napkin on the table, wishes us a merry Christmas and let's them know that she left presents on the living room coffee table, and exits through the front door.

Now it's everyone else's turn to look a little shocked, except for Carmilla. She's coming down from her anger and now looks simply relieved. The silence is quite literally ringing in all of our ears.

And then, Will bursts into laughter. He just starts laughing; big, deep, hearty laughs. Mattie joins in with clean, delighted giggling.

"Carmilla, that was _fantastic,"_ William says loudly. "Absolutely incredible. The wicked witch of the west was really overdue for a verbal ass-kicking."

"Yes, I must say well done," Mattie adds. "That was even more entertaining than I thought. How long have you been holding in that scalding rant?"

Carmilla sighs. "A very long time, Mattie. Years, probably. I'm just glad she's out of here and I don't have to see her face for another year." She then turns to me. "Sorry you had to see all of that, creampuff. I knew this night was going to be rough but I wasn't really anticipating _all_ of that drama."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine! I agree with Mattie. Super entertaining," I say, laughing. I take her hand gingerly, rubbing my thumb over it. "But, in all seriousness, what you said was really powerful. I'm sure your siblings really appreciate what you had to say about them, too."

Carmilla looks at Mattie and Will. They both nod sheepishly. "I know I never showed it, but your support through my awkward, drunken teenage years was quite appreciated," Will says with a dopey grin. Carmilla punches him on the arm in response.

Mattie sighs, standing and picking up her empty plate. "Well, I think it's best that we get going and leave you two to have an exciting Christmas eve, don't you think, William? I can drive you home."

Will shovels the last of his mashed potatoes into his mouth. "Good thinking. I got to meet up with my friend Kirsch tomorrow. He's already trying to plan his biggest New Year's party yet and he'll need me sober."

Carmilla laughs. "How uncharacteristically responsible of you."

We lead them to the door, Mattie grabs their presents from Carmilla and their mother, and we hug them goodbye. After Will hugs me, he holds my shoulders steady and, with a jokingly serious face, says, "Now, you two be safe. Use protection. Don't you dare get pregnant."

I laugh, blushing. "Don't worry. I think that would be exceptionally hard."

As he's leaving, he winks at Carmilla and says, "You never know, Laura. My sister can get preeeetty kinky, and-"

Carmilla suddenly begins to shove her brother out the door. "Okay, it's time for you to go now. Right now." And with that, the door is closed, and her siblings are gone.

Carmilla looks exhausted. She leans against the door frame, chuckling. "That's my brother, all right. He has absolutely no filter. Sorry about that."

I laugh. "Don't be. Your siblings are great. I had a great time."

Carmilla sighs. "Well, I'm glad that makes one of us." She walks to the couch and sits down, gesturing to my present. "Well? Shall I open this?"

I grin. "Yeah!" I run over and sit down to her, all giddy.

She chuckles. "You really love Christmas, don't you, cutie?"

I nod, bouncing up and down a little. "Come on, come on! Open your present!"

Carmilla laughs and tears open the wrapping paper, opens the box, and her eyes go wide. She pulls out the journal first. It's leather-bound and has a camera printed on the front.

"Laura, this is beautiful," she whispers, turning to me. "This is exactly what I've been needing. Thank you."

My smile goes wider. "There's more in the box. Keep looking."

Carmilla laughs when she finds the nice eyeliner that I bought her, and immediately puts on the black studded bracelet. Lastly, she finds the bright red collar.

Carmilla lifts the collar out of the box, looks at me, and smirks. "Creampuff…" she says, her voice deep and sexy. "I had no idea you were into this." She looks at me with an evil grin. "Want me to put it on you right now?"

My face turns cherry red. "Oh my God, Carm! No! That's not for me, it's for Cassie!"

Carmilla shrugs. "Eh, too bad. It was worth a try."

I hit her playfully and she laughs. "I got it for Cassie because I noticed her collar was really worn down and falling apart."

As if on cue, Cassie enters into the living room from the hallway. I think she heard me saying her name. When she comes to greet me, I change her collar.

"Wow," Carmilla says. "Now she's the spitting image of Pongo from _101 Dalmatians."_

I giggle. "That's exactly why I got the red collar."

Carmilla then grabs another present from the table and hands it to me. "Here," she says. "Now it's your turn."

I beam. "You got me a present, too?"

"Of course."

I open it quickly. The first thing I see is the set of 4 bath bombs; one is orange, one is blue, one is red and one is black. The second thing I see is a small little box. After getting excited about the bath bombs, I open the box. Inside is a silver necklace with a charm. When I look closely at the charm, I realize it's a phone booth.

"We wouldn't of met if it weren't for the existence of phone booths," Carmilla says. "Or that crazy guy chasing you. But I don't think there's a necklace charm for that."

I have no idea how to express thanks for such a wonderful gift, so I put down my presents and grab Carmilla by the waist, originally bringing her in for a hug, but suddenly our lips meet and we're kissing like it's the only thing we know how to do. I eventually pull away to tell her thank you.

She leans her forehead into mine. "I have one last present for you."

I shiver. "Yeah? What is it?"

She brings her fingers to my chest and slowly begins to drag them downwards, until her hand, for the third time tonight, is resting on my inner thigh. "Well, it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't finish what I started at the dinner table, would it?"

My breathing becomes heavier. "No, it wouldn't," I respond shakily.

Her fingers immediately go underneath the elastic of my underwear and begin making lazy circles around my clit. I gasp, grabbing onto her to regain the quickly-fading control I have of my body movements.

Carmilla chuckles. "You like that?"

I nod frantically.

I whimper in protest when she takes her fingers away. "Carm, please-"

"Take off your shoes and your dress first," she says.

If my mind were in a normal state, I would've suggested to move to her bed, but at this point I couldn't care less where this was happening because I needed it _right now_. I needed _her_ right now. I quickly kick off my shoes and peel off my dress, now only in my bra and underwear. Carmilla takes off her shoes and her shirt but keeps on everything else, including her leather pants (which I swear is the only pair of pants she owns, but I'm not complaining). She gently pushes me so I'm laying down on my back and straddles my waist, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above me. I can't help but grin when she leans down and kisses me, slow but passionate, like our first kiss. She pulls away and hovers her face over mine, smirking.

"I don't think I've ever felt this good in my life," I say with a sigh.

Carmilla laughs softly, grabbing both of my wrists with one of her hands and trails her other down my face, lingering her thumb on my lips, then continuing down to my chest and my stomach.

"Then I think you're about to have a really good Christmas."

* * *

 **So this isn't actually the end, the next chapter will be. Enjoy! And, as always, leave reviews/follow/etc. Thanks for waiting guys. Final chapter will be posted in a week or so (hopefully).**


	7. Part 7: End

My bra is off, my skin is flushed, my eyes are closed, and all Carmilla is doing is gripping my thighs and kissing my lower abdomen. She starts kissing me lower, and lower, until she's leaving teasing pecks all over my underwear and I swear to God I can't breathe.

"C-Carm… Please…" I pant. "O-oh my-"

Her fingers slip under the elastic and pull my underwear all the way off, excruciatingly slow (of course). The cool air feels good on my newly exposed centre and my whole body gets chills.

"Patience, cupcake," she chuckles, returning her mouth to my lower abdomen and teasing me with her tongue dipping into my belly button, eliciting a sharp gasp from me. "We'll get there soon enough." She starts leaving sloppy kisses down below my belly button like before, getting closer to where I want her.

"Please stop teasing," I grunt, lacing my fingers in her hair.

She laughs breathily on my skin, making me shiver. "I like it when you beg."

And, finally, her mouth is on my clit and she slowly pushes just the tip of one finger inside my entrance. My back arches and I moan, pleading for more. She starts speeding up her movements until suddenly there's two fingers inside of me and I feel like the whole room is spinning. My grip on her hair becomes a little tighter and I can feel myself nearing the edge as her two fingers touch me in all the right places.

Right when I'm about to come, she stops. She simply takes her fingers out of me, takes her mouth off of my centre, and sits up. I groan in protest, bucking my hips in a desperate attempt to keep up the friction, but it isn't working.

Carmilla strips off her pants and then her underwear, keeping her bra on and I'm not sure why until she leans over me, each hand on either side of my head. Her hair is hanging down around her face and she lifts a hand to push it behind her ear, returning her hand to rest next to my head once again.

"Wanna take it off for me?" she whispers.

I'm still trying to figure out why she stopped fucking me just before I was about to come but I sit up and reach around her back to unclasp her bra, too distracted now with the task at hand. I take it off and immediately my hands go to her breasts, my face finding it's way into the crook of her neck so I can kiss her there. She moans softly, wrapping her hands around my lower back and bringing me closer. She positions her legs so that one is going in between mine, and she begins to grind on my thigh. I start to do the same, still kissing her neck and revelling in the feeling of her fingernails digging into my lower back.

I'm about to come again when she pushes me down onto the couch and throws one of my legs over her shoulder. She begins to grind into me and I moan loudly, so close to going over the edge.

And then, after a little longer, I do. Suddenly my body is convulsing with pleasure and I've never felt this good before. My leg comes off of her shoulder and she leans over me as I cry out, still grinding into me. Her body presses into mine and she moans in my ear, kissing the side of my face. As we both come down from the climax, she wraps her arms around my waist and kisses me, smiling into it. I kiss her back passionately.

She pulls away, pressing her forehead into mine and looking me in the eyes. "Now _that_ was the best Christmas gift I've received this year by far," she says in amusement.

I laugh, still breathing a bit heavily and nuzzling my face into her. "How about we move this to your bedroom?"

She grins, kissing my forehead. "Definitely."

* * *

"And then, once you've doused the paper in these chemicals, you move the bin around a little, like this, and, look. The photo shows up on the print."

I watch in awe as the first photo of the bathtub series Carmilla took not too long ago slowly shows up on the photo paper. "Wow, that's incredible!"

Carmilla laughs. "I know. Isn't older technology so much more fun? Remember the good old days of GameBoys and VHS tapes?"

I grin. "You bet I do."

She takes the print out and hangs it up to dry once it's been fully developed. She begins to do this with all of the rest of the photos on the roll, too. I'm entirely content watching her, even though it is quite a long process. But I never get bored watching her.

While developing the last photo on the roll, she glances back at me and smirks. "Enjoying the show, creampuff?"

I nod, wrapping my arms around her waist and nuzzling my face into her hair. "Very much so."

"I must say this is definitely the best Christmas I've had in awhile," Carmilla sighs, reaching behind her with her free hand so she can lace her fingers through my hair. "I'm very glad you've been able to spend it with me."

"Me too," I breathe softly. Her hair smells like rose-scented shampoo. It's incredibly intoxicating.

She puts up the last one to dry and I gasp upon looking at it. It's the photo she took with the timer, the one where she got in the tub with me. The lighting is dim but just bright enough so you can see Carmilla gently grabbing my face underwater, and everything looks so surreal.

"Holy crap. Carmilla. That is gorgeous," I say in awe.

"Yeah, I think it came out well, too."

"Your hair looks like mermaid hair underwater!"

"Yours does too."

"The framing is amazing! It's even better than any of the other photos!"

"I agree."

"And the way we're looking at each other, you can tell, even though it's blurry and under the water and our eyes are shut, it's so... full of love!"

Realizing just then that I had used the word love, I shrink back a little in nervousness. We hadn't really gotten to this stage in our relationship at all and I was suddenly afraid of her reaction.

She turns her head towards mine and smiles, pressing a kiss into my forehead. "Well, that's because I was. Looking at you with love, I mean."

I feel like I'm about to explode. In my heart, I know this is Carmilla's weird, non-direct, no-big-deal way of telling me she cares about me. I squeal, squeezing her tighter and bouncing up and down a little. "Carm, you may try to hide it but you're such a softie! It's so cute!"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she says, playfully shoving me.

I look at her and smile, feeling more content than I have in a long time. This really was the best Christmas ever. I think back on how I never would have known Carmilla if I hadn't called the wrong number that one faithful night, and secretly thank whoever was controlling fate for having a crazy man chasing me and for LaFontaine's phone number being so similar to Carmilla's. I think it's the weirdest thing I've ever been grateful for. But when I look at Carmilla and I watch her develop those photos or pet Cassie or stare out the window with a thoughtful look on her face, I know that it's the best accident I've ever made.

* * *

And that's the end! Thank you guys so so much for supporting this story, I really hope you enjoyed it. I'm beginning to work on a new Carmilla story, one that's a high school AU, so keep a lookout for that when I eventually post it (on AO3, my account name is the same as here. This story is on AO3 as well). You guys are awesome. Enjoy, and see you all soon.


End file.
